Pentagon civilian workers face first of 11 furlough days today

A day without pay, the first of 11 through September,
arrives today for more than 650,000 people who hold civilian jobs with the Defense
Department. Officials worry that the Pentagon will be hit even harder by layoffs
in 2014 if automatic budget cuts continue as planned.

Roughly 85 percent of
the department's nearly 900,000 civilians around the world will be furloughed one
day each week over the next three months, according to the latest statistics
provided by the Pentagon. But while defense officials were able to shift money
around to limit the furloughs this year, thousands of civilian, military and
contract jobs could be on the chopping block next year.

Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel is expected to provide senators with more details early next week on
how the next wave of across-the-board budget cuts will affect the department, said
Pentagon press secretary George Little. But while defense officials have not yet
released details on the impact of the cuts, Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army's chief of
staff, has warned that as many as 100,000 more active-duty, National Guard and
Reserve soldiers could lose their jobs if Congress allows billions of dollars in
automatic budget cuts to continue next year.

Initial hopes that the number
of furlough days could be reduced have largely been dashed. Instead, talk is
focused more on how to slash spending in 2014. The department can only force
workers to take 22 furlough days per year, thus the need for possible layoffs.

In the coming weeks, however, civilian employees ranging from top-level policy
advisers to school teachers and depot workers will not be answering their phones
or responding to emails for one day a week through the end of the fiscal year on
Sept. 30. The department estimates the savings will be between $1.9 billion and
$2.1 billion.

Managers across the department have been given some
flexibility in how they schedule the days off during each two-week pay period. But
they also are dealing with complex legal requirements that in many cases prevent
them from using military personnel to fill in for the absent civilians.

"There's going to be perhaps some degradation of mission across the department,
and because of reduced work schedules for 650,000 employees," Little said. "We
knew that going in, and we knew that would be a problem, and we've tried to take
steps to ensure that top-priority missions across the department aren't
disproportionately affected.

Government employees share ups and downs of furlough days

Federal News Radio asked its readers on Facebook to share their strategies for
surviving the furloughs.

Some furloughed employees, like Cheryl Lowery, are
trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Lowery wrote she would be enjoying
"dates with my grandchildren, lounging by the pool, camping and more fun stuff."

Likewise, Alana Casanova Johnson will be taking field trips with her
children and opting for low-cost activities like visiting the National Zoo.

"Furlough days will be go back to sleep days after waking up early and
realizing it's not a work day," wrote Tanya Ramey, a DoD writer/editor. "[I] will
enjoy days off, even though I won't enjoy reduced pay, but grateful I have a job.
Just hope one day feds won't be the target to such cuts."

Government contractor Kendra Brewington's furlough experience hasn't been that
rosy. She's endured a seven-week long, temporarily layoff, as she waits for a task
order from a newly awarded contract to come through.

"The first week I
lounged and
ran errands," Brewington wrote on Facebook. "The second week I vowed to start my
new fitness plan that never came to fruition. Week 3, I wondered how long I could
live off of my savings. Week 4, I started job hunting and haven't looked back
since. Either the contract will come through first or I'll receive a new offer
soon."

In some cases, supervisors will try to
accommodate workers who manage to find some other part-time, temporary job to help
ease the fiscal pain, although they are limited in the types of employment they
can take.

Chuck McCoy wrote he was working part-time to compensate for the loss of income
and had restructured his vacation into a "stay-cation."

Dennis Burke, who works for the Army, and Christine Farrell Page are seeking part-
time jobs, as is Scott Dingwall, who added he was eating ramen to help "avoid
bankruptcy."

Some furloughed workers don't have option for part-time work

Civilians have been getting their furlough letters sporadically
for the last few weeks. The letters tell them that during their furlough time,
"you will not be permitted to serve as an unpaid volunteer, must remain away from
your workplace, and are prohibited from performing any work-related duties."